OKARA: The district health authorities denied that a two-month-old baby died after taking polio vaccine in Khizar Town of Renala Khurd on Monday.

Mujahid, father of infant Manahil, alleged the health of his baby deteriorated after polio vaccinators administered her drops. She expired after sometime.

The health authorities denied the allegations, saying the baby was already sick and was under treatment.

After Mujahid’s complaint, a district health department team, headed by District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Mahar Muhammad Irshad along with DDHO Dr Khurshid Balooch, child specialist Dr Saeed Akhtar and district surveillance officer Dr Muhammad Ali Syed rushed to Renala Khurd and probed the incident.

Dr Irshad told Dawn that the family had three children, twins and three years old son.

He claimed that Manahil, who was one of the twins, was very week having deficiency of calcium and was very anaemic. She was also under treatment with a local child specialist.

“The vaccinators administered polio drops to three children of the family beside more than children of 12 houses in the same street. Even Minahil’s twin sibling and her three-year-old brother, are safe and other families in their street had no complaint about the vaccine drops.”

Infant’s father claims vaccine behind death

DHO Irshad said Minahil had been fed milk some minutes before the vaccine drops administered to her. She had a vomit and due to severe weakness she could not properly cough and vomit entered her trachea (windpipe). Later, the doctors removed the vomit

fluid from Minahil’s trachea but she could not survive.

SUICIDE: A man allegedly shot himself to death when his estranged wife refused to reconcile with him at village Mehtabgarh in tehsil Dipalpur.

Fayyaz had a conflict with his wife and she was living with her parents. Her father passed away some days back. On Sunday night, Fayyaz went to his in-laws’ house and asked his wife to go home with him but she refused.

The couple exchanged harsh words. Fayyaz went back to his home and shot himself to death.

Published in Dawn, Aprill 10th, 2018